


Following Programming

by scrapmetal



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, I have plans, Orisa joins Overwatch, She just wants friends, may change ratings later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-07
Updated: 2017-08-24
Packaged: 2018-11-28 19:57:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11425083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scrapmetal/pseuds/scrapmetal
Summary: Orisa is the newest member of Overwatch, and the youngest. As she interacts and learns about the other members of the group, she learns a bit about herself.





	1. Excitement

**Author's Note:**

> Hey!! This is the first fanfic I've written in over a year, so I'm not too used to this haha. I've looked over the whole thing, but don't be too surprised if there are some grammatical errors. I also wrote 90% of this on my phone... so yeah that might not be the best way to do things but whatever.

Orisa hadn't known about excitement when the screeching started, and so she panicked. Orisa recognized the voice as the one that belonged to her maker, Efi. Orisa feared the worst, and moved quickly into a fortified battle stance, moving slowly towards what she thought was a sound of panic. The screeching got louder, accompanied by the pitter patter of bare feet hitting hardwood floors. Orisa prepared to meet whatever is scaring Efi and stared at the door leading to the rest of the house. The door suddenly burst open, and instead of a terrified Efi running in, a smiling one does. 

“Orisa!! Orisa!!” Efi shouted as she crashed through the door. Orisa’s battle stance relaxed when she realized that Efi was safe. Orisa was mildly confused, but she figured that she just misread the situation. She had only been active for a month, after all. Although her mental capacity was at peak performance, she lacked the experience that one needs to be able to understand the world to the best of their abilities. Efi noticed Orisa’s reaction to her screeching and made a mental note to tell her about excitement later. At that moment, however, she was there to share some news. 

“Orisa!” She said one final time before actually telling her omnic friend what was going on. “Guess who contacted me?”

“There are billions of people in the world who could have contacted you. Why do you think I would know?” Orisa said, blinking. She wondered if she missed a figure of speech, or if Efi was testing her. 

Efi laughed a bit before saying, “Lucio!! Lucio contacted me!!” She squealed again, the mention of what happened to reignite her excitement. 

Orisa tilted her head to the side in question. “Lucio?” She asked, feeling like she should know the name. 

Efi gasped in fake offense. “You don't remember who Lucio is?? He’s the one who makes like, half of the music I listen to!!” She fiddled around for a second with her phone to play a song by the famous artist on a nearby speaker. “I eat his cereal for breakfast pretty much every morning!! How do you not know this?!”

Orisa’s eyes suddenly turned from confused crosses to happy little upside-down V's. “Ah! The cereal man! I do remember his music. It is quite good. What did he say?”

Efi jumped up a bit, ignoring the fact that Orisa just called Lucio ‘The Cereal Man.’ “That's the best part!” She chirped. “He invited us, well… mostly you… but I'll be there too…” She cleared her throat and decided to start again. “He invited us to join Overwatch!!”

Orisa blinked in surprise. Overwatch… She didn't know what to think. Although the recall of the organization was very controversial and technically illegal, the majority of Numbani and both Efi and Orisa agreed that it was to be a force of good and would pursue its original goal of making the world a better place. They hadn't done much yet, however, and no one was completely sure what their motives were. Efi had shown Orisa a lot of footage of the original Overwatch and considered them heroes. Orisa, of course, trusted Efi’s judgment, but she had seen so many in the world that opposed it. 

“Join Overwatch?” Orisa said, deciding that surprised described her current set of emotions. “Us?” 

“Yes!! Lucio has already figured it out with the rest of the team. You're one of them now!” Efi ran up to hug Orisa, but while she gripped onto the omnic’s metallic sides she mumbled, “I mean, if you don't want to, I can tell them you can't… It's your choice, of course.” 

Orisa considered this for a second. “You said you would be there, correct?” She asked, tilting her head. 

“Weeeeelll, only for three days in the week, just to check on you. I am 11 after all, and I'd probably get really homesick anyway.” She paused for a second. “If there's an emergency or something I'll come to help you for sure.” 

Orisa figured that this was the best it would get. She knew that age for humans meant a lot to them, especially compared to omnics. After all, they were letting Orisa join after she had only been active for a month and Efi wasn't joining even though she had been alive for 11 whole years. 

Orisa nodded. “I will join, then.”

Efi’s face lit up again as she turned around to run to her room, presumably to tell Lucio that Orisa agreed to join them. Orisa stayed behind, as she was not allowed into the house. She shuffled around a bit before sitting down, contemplating what she was just told. She felt… well, she didn't know what she felt like. 

Is this a new emotion? She wondered. It feels a bit like happiness, but not quite. Orisa wondered if she should call Efi down to ask about this new emotion, even though the girl had just left the room. Although Efi could have easily programmed Orisa to be able to recognize any new emotion that she experienced, Efi preferred to teach Orisa about them herself. 

Orisa ended up calling down Efi, even though it made her feel obnoxious. 

A few minutes after sending a message, Orisa heard the familiar pitter patter of Efi’s feet racing down the stairs again. She was panting, and as she entered the doorway she gave Orisa a questioning look. 

“I am sorry to call you down here after you just left... but I have discovered a new emotion,” Orisa said, eyes not meeting Efi's in embarrassment. 

“Ah! No, it's fine Ori!” Efi said reassuringly, sensing the omnic’s embarrassment. “I just got in my daily exercise, that's all!” She laughed a bit before continuing, “Sooo… about this new emotion… What does it feel like?”

Orisa thought back to the emotion, bringing it back and rolling it around in her mind. “It feels like happiness… but with more of a sense of urgency to it. I'm happy not because of something happening now, but because of something that will happen in the future.” She said finally. 

Efi thought a bit before nodding. “I’d say that's excitement. It's what I was feeling before when I ran down here to tell you the news! I was excited. I'm glad you're excited too… Overwatch is going to be amazing.”

Orisa laughed and said the new word for herself. “Overwatch is going to be amazing, Efi. After all, you will be there!” 

Efi laughed as she left the door. “Thank you, Ori!”

Orisa was officially excited. Although she didn't screech in happiness because of it, her eyes were turned up in smiles and her front left hoof tapped to a beat that only she could hear. Overwatch is going to be great, she thought once more. 

But great is only one word, and there were many other words that would have to be said to describe Orisa's experience during her time at Overwatch.


	2. Nerves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Orisa and Efi have arrived at Gibraltar and begin to settle down, dinner happens and conversations are held. Overwatch is seeming like it'll work out!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly, huge thanks to my new beta (? maybe? i've never had a beta and she's never been a beta so we're a bit inexperienced with the whole thing) Mar! We met and correspond on Discord, but her ao3 is Mariposas!  
> I'm so sorry this took so long!! I'm a really slow writer, so y'all gotta bear with me a bit.  
> Also? The new Mei short? Blessed.  
> Hope you guys enjoy!

Orisa thought she was feeling a new emotion again. It was like excitement but… bad. Today was the day she was joining Overwatch, and all she could feel was that.

Is it… excitement with fear? She thought, lightly tapping her hoof on the floor. It feels like that, but that must not be what it is called...

She was in the front room, ready to leave. She was just sitting, waiting. She didn't want to break anything by moving around- she was very big- and Efi's parents would not be too happy about anything breaking.

The last week had been abuzz with training and organizing and final touches and minor adjustments… Excitement with an underlying tension hidden from Orisa with overconfident smiles. Efi made sure Orisa knew everything about the heroes who were in the old Overwatch and all the information they could dig up about the newer members. Together they studied strategies, team composition, abilities and techniques used by Overwatch. After watching videos over and over again, they went outside of Numbani and practiced in the sand. Orisa threw out shields and shooting at targets all while Efi shouted out imaginary situations and problems for Orisa to work out and fix. At the end of the day, the two were worn out, but Orisa felt good.

* * *

 

Efi was nervous. More nervous than when she was interviewed after receiving her genius grant. More nervous than when she first started up Orisa fully for the first time. She was going to meet some of her biggest heroes and idols. D.Va (!), Winston (!!), Lucio (!!!) and Reinhardt (!!!!) were going to be there. She was so nervous about the meeting that she spent the whole week making sure that Orisa was going to impress everyone. Orisa was her greatest achievement and her best friend. Efi didn't want her to disappoint anyone. She didn't know if she could take Orisa disappointing her idols. So Efi pushed them both, feeling like even though they already had the invitation, they could be sent home at any moment.

The time for tiny adjustments was over, though, and Efi was more or less ready to leave with Orisa to the Numbani airport where Tracer (!) would come and take them to Watchpoint: Gibraltar. Orisa was down in the front room while Efi looked at her suitcase and wondered if she had everything.

It's not like I'm leaving forever. She reminded herself, I'll be back on Wednesday, if I forget anything, I can get it then.

Efi was both glad for the 3 days a week arrangement and worried about it. She was glad because although she had the smarts of a person in college, she didn't have the independence of one. She definitely didn't want to leave her parents at 11 years old. Orisa, however, was a tad worrying. There hadn't been a moment in the omnic’s life where she had been without Efi for longer than a day, and leaving her with relative strangers (even if they were Efi’s idols) was scary. Efi let go of a breath she was holding and figured that this was for the best. With one last look inside her suitcase, Efi zipped it up and carried it downstairs to where Orisa was waiting.

* * *

 

The trip to Watchpoint: Gibraltar was a blur of airports, aircrafts, and most of all Lena “Tracer” Oxton. The woman picked them up at Numbani and her extremely positive, excited, over the top energy pushed all of that new bad emotion out of Orisa. After they landed at the watchpoint, Tracer hopped out of the pilot seat and joined the two girls in the main part of the craft.

“Well! Here we are! Good old Gibraltar…” Tracer sighed before putting back on her trademark smile. “We better get you two settled in, yeah?”

Efi nodded semi-confidently. Orisa could tell that she was not used to being in the same area as Tracer for a long period of time.

They walked down a big, almost empty hangar. Only a few aircrafts were in the space, and it was obvious that it was designed to hold the forces that Overwatch once supplied. The echoing of the group’s footsteps began to hammer in the sad feelings tied to the place, and so Tracer attempted to lighten things up.

“So! Efi! What's it like living in Numbani?” Tracer chirped a bit artificially, perhaps holding back a bit of nostalgia.

“Oh! Uh, yeah, it's… Great!” Efi said, still a bit nervous. Orisa lightly put a hand on her creator’s shoulder for support. “The weather’s nice, never gets very cold, maybe a bit hot sometimes… I've never really been anywhere else so… I don't really have anything to compare it to.” Efi added, more confidently this time.

The conversation continued to lighten as they walked along, fighting off the depressing mood of the almost empty watchpoint. Finally, they reached Efi and Orisa's room.

“Welp! Here it is! Dinner’s in about 30 minutes, Reinhardt said he’s cooking up something special so you won't want to miss that. In the meantime, just… settle in I guess! See ya at dinner!”

After Tracer left, Efi let out the breath and ran into the room, jumping into the large bed located in the right corner. Orisa slowly made her way into the room, closing the door behind her.

“Are you alright Efi?” Orisa asked, a bit concerned.

“Mmm?” Efi mumbled, turning her head so her face wasn’t smothered by the thick blanket. “I’m fine, just… tired.”

Orisa nodded a bit awkwardly, wondering what she should do during the 30 minutes before dinner.

Should I even go to dinner? She questioned herself, absentmindedly taking the clothes out of Efi’s suitcase and carefully putting them into the numerous drawers located on the other side of the bedroom. It’s not like I would have much to do there, I cannot eat… but Tracer is expecting both of us there. She finished with the clothes and went over to the bed, watching Efi as she lay, awake now but not for long. It will be good to go, Orisa decided finally, I will be able to better know my teammates at the very least.

“Hey, Ori?” Efi said, sitting up. “Do you think Tracer likes me?”

Orisa blinked in surprise. “Why do you think she does not? I did not pick up on any negative feelings that she might have for you,” Orisa paused before continuing, “Besides, how could she not like you? You are probably the most likable person I know.”

Efi smiled a bit before swinging her legs off the side of the bed again. “It's not like you know many other people…” she said quietly, only slightly within Orisa's range of detection.

Orisa decided to ignore the comment and instead remind Efi that it was about time for dinner.

* * *

 

As Efi and Orisa left their room they realized that they had no idea where dinner was being served.

“I uh… maybe if we go to the right..? We came in from the left… at least I think we did…” Efi said, clearly lost.

“I seem to remember that we entered from the left,” Orisa offered halfheartedly. She was also very lost.

“Perhaps I could be of assistance?” Said a calm voice that suddenly sprung out from somewhere on the ceiling. “Apologies for interrupting, but it seems that no one has introduced you two to me yet. I am Athena. I am an AI created by Winston to help make things in Overwatch a bit smoother.”

“Oh, yes! We're looking for the... dining room? Wherever dinner is being held,” Efi responded. “Thank you, Ms. Athena!”

A calm chuckle came from the ceiling. “Of course, it is my pleasure. The main cafeteria is located down this hall…”

* * *

 

Like the hangar, the cafeteria was a depressingly small place. Out of the 10 standard tables in the space, only four looked like they were regularly used. Unlike the hangar, there was decor in the cafeteria tried to dismiss the feelings of emptiness that the large space invited. A lot of the plastic chairs were replaced with a variety of more personal looking chairs, ranging from rickety wooden stools to more modern floating chairs.

Tracer waved to the two as they moved closer, motioning for them to join her table. She was the only one at the table at the moment, but noises and smells from the kitchen signified that dinner was well on its way.

“Heya you two! I wasn't expecting you to be out here this early! Are you all settled in?”

Efi laughed a bit self-consciously. “Well, I didn't really bring too much. I only have one suitcase… Only a few outfits for me and some basic repair things for Ori. I'll bring the rest next time.”

“Ah! I see,” Tracer said with a smile. “if you need anything else for Orisa, I’d check with Winston! And… I might have a shirt that could fit you? Maybe not, you’re a bit small!”

Efi laughed. “I’ll probably be fine, thanks for the offer though!”

Tracer nodded, and before the conversation could get off to another tangent, someone else came into the room.

Lúcio was dancing to music that could barely be heard past his headphones as he strutted into the cafeteria. However, as he processed who exactly was at the closest table to him, he stopped.

A small pause and a look between Efi and Lúcio passed and before Efi could even react, Lúcio picked her up and smiled.

“I can't believe it!” Lúcio exclaimed. “Efi Oladele, in the flesh! I'm your number one fan!”

Efi couldn't find any words to say as she stared into the face of a celebrity that she had respected for years. Orisa identified Efi's expression as being “starry-eyed,” and subconsciously tried to make her eyes look like stars.

“And look at this! It's Orisa herself!” Lúcio said while putting down Efi, who managed to whisper a “You too” in response to his comments.

Orisa stopped thinking about Efi and was now face to face with Lúcio. Was she feeling star struck as well?

“Orisa, you are amazing! And you're lookin’ good too! I'm loving that green, you wear it like a pro!” He said, compliments naturally rolling off his tongue.

Orisa responded with a weak “Thank you” as Lúcio and the rest began to walk to the kitchen where Reinhardt had finished preparing. Thoughts and questions and feelings bombarded Orisa's mind, making her wish that she was able to go somewhere quiet and sort through it all. The day had been a mess of new things and places and people, and Orisa hadn't experienced anything even close to similar to it in her short life.

Orisa's thoughts were interrupted by the sight of light reflecting off metal on the edge of her visual sensors. Curious, she looked over.

She wasn't really expecting to see other omnic agents at Overwatch. Although it was always a possibility, not all agents were open to the public about their membership, Orisa hadn't really considered it.

And yet there they were, three metallic beings walking into the cafeteria.

The one that caught Orisa’s sensors first was on the right. They looked to be a very advanced and expensive model, green lights threading throughout their body, a slit on their face with a light that pulsed to the beat of what Orisa assumed to be a laugh. The one to the left of the first was the member of a more standard humanoid model. Their faceplate looked a bit more custom than the ones that Orisa had seen around in Numbani, but it definitely wasn't flamboyant. They were also wearing old and worn mustard pants with a red sash. The one on the left was…

[BASTION MODEL E54 DETECTED. ALL MODELS SUBJECT TO TERMINATION.]

Orisa’s old OR15 programming came up out of nowhere, surprising her. The momentum of the thought almost made her say the words out loud in front of the poor robot. Orisa tried to shut her old programming out, but the remnant remained, an echo behind her other thoughts.

Orisa shook her head slightly and continued to watch the omnics. The fancier one split off from the others and joined the growing line for food. Orisa tracked their movement curiously but was interrupted by the two other omnics approaching her.

“Orisa,” the standard model began, their voice serene. “It is nice to finally meet you. I am excited to work with you and get to know you, my sister. I am Tekhartha Zenyatta, but you can simply call me Zenyatta.”

“It is nice to meet you,” Orisa responded, not really knowing what to say. She recognized the name Tekhartha, it belonged to Tekhartha Mondatta as well. Orisa wondered if the two knew each other in some way, but decided not to bring it up. If they were connected, Zenyatta would probably still be hurting from Mondatta’s assassination. Instead, she repeated her thoughts from earlier. “I… wasn't really expecting any other omnics in Overwatch, it's… nice.”

Zenyatta nodded in acknowledgment. “It's unfortunate that for the moment our membership must be a secret for the moment. Despite Winston’s efforts to make this new Overwatch as transparent as possible, the Petras Act is still a barrier we need to overcome. To appeal it we must keep up a good public image, and with the world’s views of human-omnic relationships becoming more and more hostile, we remain unknown to the public.”

The Bastion lightly nudged Zenyatta. “[I’m… not sure everyone knowing I'm part of this,, would go over well… :/ I mean, my model has been the symbol of the violence of the ...crisis for a while.] Their speech consisted of the beeps and whistles of vocal omnicode. The vocal language was rare even in omnic circles, but all omnics were coded to know it. The way this bastion handled it was very expressive in a way that wasn't natural to the already expressive language. Rising and lowering of pitch reflected the emotions he was expressing and the rhythm of the beeps mirrored human speech patterns.

Orisa decided to speak up, in English, because she didn't think she would be able to produce anything close to the mastery of verbal omnicode the Bastion held. “Overwatch needs to redefine their image in these months and years after this recall, and hopefully with the organization, you can redefine the legacy that your model has left you.”

The Bastion looked up in surprise. “[Right! You can understand me! I'm not used to that… and! Thank you! Optimism is kinda rare these days… It's good to have another person here, especially another omnic :)]

Orisa nodded and the three continued talking. Orisa learned that the Bastion was simply called Bastion because they were the last one and that Zenyatta was yes, a friend of Mondatta’s and was still hurting from his death.

Orisa had all but forgotten about the omnic who went into the kitchen before they suddenly came up with a tray of food. “Soo…” they began, the ‘o’ reaching down into a level of awkwardness. “Should we sit down?” They asked, nodding at the tray that they carried. Orisa was still confused about why they had the food in the first place, but she didn't argue and walked towards the closest table.

Once they were all seated, the omnic with the food reached for their faceplate and… Oh, Orisa thought. I'm an idiot, it's a mask. They're a cyborg. The face that greeted her was scarred, but despite that, it put on a bright smile.

“Orisa! Sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier, I needed to get food and everything. I'm Genji Shimada, resident cyborg ninja. Welcome to Overwatch!” He said, smiling throughout.

“Thank you, it is good to meet you all! I really do think I will be able to find a place within this team.”

Smiles came in many forms from the crowd of mechanical beings, and Orisa’s eyes smiled back.

“I am glad that you are enjoying your stay…” Zenyatta started, trailing off when he saw Efi tugging at Orisa’s arm to get her attention.

“Orisa! Come meet the rest of the team, everyone is super nice!” Efi urged as she hung on Orisa's arm, trying to drag her but failing miserably.

Orisa looked back at who she was talking to in apology. Zenyatta gave her a small nod, Bastion let out a soft chuckle, and Orisa knew that they were fine with her leaving.

Efi stopped in front of every member of Overwatch present in the cafeteria for about two seconds before dragging Orisa along to the next person. All she managed to say to each person was a small hello, but it seemed like everyone was glad to see her. The last person they stopped by was the genetically enhanced gorilla and the impromptu leader of recalled Overwatch by the name of Winston. After Orisa said hi and before Efi could whisk her off to who knows where Winston cleared his throat and put down his jar of peanut butter.

“As the, er, leader of Overwatch, I will have to test you on your abilities and readiness in battle so we can figure out how we can incorporate you in future missions. After dinner, which looks like it's wrapping up just about now, Athena and I will set up the training room to simulate some situations out on the field.”

Orisa nodded. “I am ready,” she said with confidence.

Efi tapped Orisa’s right arm. “Not yet! We still have to put on your fusion driver. I’m glad that we’re using it, a lot of space in my suitcase was dedicated to the thing.”

“Right. I think I remember the way back to our room.” Orisa said before walking off, Efi following close behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While writing this I was kind of confused because of how fluffy it was, I have some plans for some not very fluffy things in the future haha. It won't come all at once though, don't worry! Also, this is I think about 3 times as long as the last chapter! Heck yes!  
> Lots of little headcanons were put into here, I'm proud of them all haha.


End file.
